Brotherhood & Friendship
by everLastingTime
Summary: Haven's parents decide to have a younger sibling for their only son and for that reason visit an orphanage together. however things turn out different that they had expected... Human!Toothless; Kid Haven (Hiccup)


**A/N: hello, reader :D i was a little hesitant about publishing this small one-shot because it originally was a part of a story I later dropped. however, i think it's cute somehow and it shows how I see the bond between Toothless and Hiccup. **

**Before you proceed to read the story please read this beforehand: In this one-shot Hiccup is 4 yours old, however in my story he was a genius so you will find character traits that are normally unfitting for a child of that age. **

**It's rated T for the mentioning of blood and a bit of swearing.**

**(sorry about the speech marks, i swear i put them there! they just disappeared somewhere along the upload... it's corrected now. sorry again)**

**Please enjoy! (:**

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**Bonds of blood**

Vallerie, or Val for short, and Steven, or Stoick, entered through the front door. The atmosphere was clearly a tense one. Val was visibly nervous with every step she made, while Stoick, who couldn't read the atmosphere at all, walked up to the front desk without the slightest hint of hesitation and a determined posture.

While her husband seemed absolutely disinterested in his surroundings Val couldn't help but notice how different she had pictured an orphanage to be. It looked nothing like movies showed it, cold and mysterious with secret human trafficking going on. On the opposite, I appeared modern with inviting, bright colors throughout the room. The air in here seemed a little different though, as if it was harder to breathe.

Behind his parents came up a little toddler, Haven, obviously scared by the foreign environment as he clung onto his mother's pants with one hand and to the stuffed dragon with his other. Though scared he couldn't help his childish curiosity peeking through as well, his eyes looking around and checking out things he had never seen before.

"we want to adopt a child" Stoick boomed at the young lady at the front desk.

_Well, yes, that's why most couples go to orphanages._ But the lady didn't dare say that for she was obviously intimidated by his height and strong body built. No doubt, that man could snap her in half. "yes! O-of course!" _gods, that man is huge!_

Val was quick to notice and stepped in, careful not to make Haven stumble as he still clung to her when she walked to stand in front of her husband. "excuse him, he has no manners" a quick glare to the giant's direction before she continued "we made an appointment under the name Haddock"

The lady couldn't suppress the sigh of relief she hoped nobody had noticed. "please wait for a moment, I shall check on the computer" her long, slender fingers moved along the keyboard, making rhythmic noises every time her polished, long fingernails hit a key. "ah yes, Haddock Vallerie and Steven. Please go along this corridor and use the second door on the right. An assistant of mine should already await you"

"thank you" instead of walking carefully slow now she picked up her son and carried him in her arms as she followed the woman's instructions, closely followed by her giant of a husband. More introductions followed when they reached the described door and said assistant was now sitting down with them, asking them questions Haven acted like he didn't understand yet while really he did. He might not have really been interested in all the financial talking, but one particular question had him listen up.

"why do you wish for another child when your wife has already given birth to a son?" she asked directed at Stoick while Val whispered to Haven, telling him they'd be over soon with all the boring stuff and then he could meet his new younger sibling.

Stoick spoke for both when he answered "while giving birth to Haven there were … complications and now my wife can no longer give birth" Haven didn't miss how his mother's eyes turned sad at those words. Even at the tender age of four could he tell she was feeling guilty about being unable to have children. He didn't know for sure but he guessed she felt like she could no longer fulfill her role as a wife.

Stoick, despite his usual lacking sense of reading the situation, reached for his wife's hand and softly squeezed it with his bigger one "I am very happy to still have both my little son and my beloved wife" he spoke, more to his family than the assistant.

Squeezing back she returned her head to the assistant. "we don't want Haven to grow up as an only child. I am one so I know how lonely it can be when both parents are busy with something. So we thought of having a younger sibling for him" Haven smiled, seeing that his mother had brightened up and nodded at her words.

The assistant nodded in acknowledgement. And finally started the actual topic "are there any preferences you would like to say beforehand? Like, agewise or genderwise?"

Stoick and Val shared a look "no, no such thing. We would like to be open-minded for anything. We don't want to force some stranger onto Haven so we brought him along to choose whoever he would get along with well. Denying a child fitting of that description simply because of their gender or eye color is not an option."

Again, the woman nodded and Haven caught her muttering something about how she wished more parents who already had children would think like that.

With no more words spoken the four of them made their way to the part of the building where the children lived. While walking along the corridors and passing through halls the assistant explained the sections of genders and ages the orphans' living arrangements were organized in. When they reached a veranda they could see young teenagers playing soccer in the yard, some girls playing along with the boys on the teams, others cheering from the sidelines.

"this is our second oldest section from the ages of 8 to 14" the woman's voice hardly even reached Haven's ears as he watched those kids play with fascination in his eyes. Val noticed and put him down so he could get a closer look but not before warning him to be super careful around the railing.

Pressing his head against the railing while holding it tightly with his free hand (the other was still holding the stuffed dragon) he watched the older children move along the grass, skillfully (from a child's point of view) getting the ball near the goal.

Finally one team scored. Haven's eyes lit up with excitement and as he was about to get his mom's attention and point at their direction he forgot about the dragon and let it drop through the railing.

"oh no!" he whispered "toothless!" driven by the immediate wish to retrieve his favorite Christmas present he stormed the way they had come from and searched for a door that led outside. The sound of his footsteps was too small to be noticed by the three adults, who had started to discuss something, especially with the thin carpet covering the floor dampening it.

After having opened a few doors he finally made out the right one and hurried outside, his eyes searching for the color of black fabric. But there was none.

Finally he noticed one of the teens swinging it around in one hand, probably trying to look cool in front of the girls.

Without thinking Haven reacted "hey, that's mine!"

When the teen turned around a small toddler came running his way, having both arms outstretched as a demand for the stuffed toy. "give it back!" Haven spoke when he came to a halt just in front of the boy, who he now noticed to be at least one and a half head taller than himself. But having such a huge father (and his mother wasn't exactly small either) tended to make you immune against being easily intimidated by height.

The boy grinned a sly smile, never stopping to spin the dragon by its tail and that disrespectful behavior towards his best friend annoyed Haven quite a lot. "how much would you pay me?"

Haven huffed, and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I don't need to pay for something that's mine too begin with" he spoke bravely. His stance caused the girls to giggle and talk about how cute he looked like this. Normally he would have commented on it but there were other things to worry about then.

"you talk big for such a squirt!" the boy laughed, pulling the dragon over his head and out of the toddler's reach "but that is the wrong answer!" he tossed the stuffed animal into the air in a mocking way.

"give it back!" Haven demanded again, stepping closer. His eyes were searching for an opening to snatch his dragon from the air before the other boy but he was forced to realize he was simply too small.

"come get it if you want it" the teen provoked, letting the animal fall into the kid's reach before he caught it again with one swift movement of his hand.

Haven didn't need to be told twice. He was determined to get his best friend back. Whether out of bravery or recklessness he tackled the older boy, stretching out his small hands to get a grip on the dragon before the other one did.

But it was to no avail. The fight between a four-year-old and a thirteen-year-old was as unfair as you'd expect it to be, not only due to their difference in height but also in strength. So Haven was damned to stand on the losing side from the beginning, but not like he didn't already know that. But giving up his best buddy to some idiot without at least putting up a fight wasn't an option either.

The fight remained one-sided, some girls giggling at the two of them and some telling the older boy to play nice or not to be so mean to the little toddler. The older one visibly enjoyed the attention he got while the younger one could barely hold back tears as his frustration grew. He felt so helpless it annoyed the hell out of him.

That was until suddenly and out of nowhere the older boy was tackled from the side and thrown to the ground. A boy, obviously smaller than him but definitely older than Haven lay atop of him, quickly snatched the dragon before the other could even react and got up again.

He was about one head taller than Haven with raven black hair that went down to his chin and darker skin than most kids.

The other kid was finally catching up on what had happened "what do you think you're doing, you asshole!?" Yes, this kid knew words thirteen-year-olds were not supposed to know. Even though he would never admit it he didn't really understand what it meant but he knew it was an insult so he used it only to seem cool and adult-like.

The raven haired one, though he knew exactly what it meant, didn't react to it, or couldn't rather as the other jumped back to his feet and stormed at him. But the boy was quick, dodging all attempts of attacks while protecting the dragon.

The thirteen-year-old's punches became stronger with every time he missed so when he finally hit it was with more force than he had intended. However the kick in the guts he received as payback was just as painful. And this is how the fight started.

Other kids were gathering around the two of them, cheering for the fight to continue while Haven was frozen where he stood. His arms felt empty, his eyes kept following the raven haired by who for some reason fought for his best friend's safety.

When blood was starting to get involved finally some adults came along to go in between. To Haven's surprise said adults were the assistant closely followed by his parents.

Stoick picked up both boys by their hoods when the assistant's strict words but slightly scared behavior failed. He held them as far from each other as possible. While the older one was scared shitless of the giant and immediately gave up, the raven haired one fought for release, scratched and bit the hand that held him into the air, even growled at the man from the depth of his throat. But seeing as the giant mass of a man didn't even seem to feel it he eventually let the dragon drop to the ground so he slipped out of his sweater and thus out of his grip. Quickly he grabbed the dragon again and ran over to Haven.

Val's protective instincts were to shield her son from the stranger and she was about to gather her only child in her arms for protection when Haven stepped from behind her without the slightest bit of hesitation (he was a bit like his father in that manner) and approached the bleeding boy holding his dragon. All adults were kind of dumbfounded by those actions, no one knew what to say.

Gratefully he reached for his best friend when the other offered it to him as he knelt down to his level.

Haven looked at him, seeing eyes with a different shade of green than his own. The slightly opened mouth of the other showed pointy canine teeth. The long black hair added to the dark feeling the boy was giving off. If Haven were to describe him in one word it would be animalistic.

He wasn't scared or anything, more like struck by the uniqueness this boy possessed. Those eyes like the eyes of a wild beast hid softness. And Haven couldn't help but find that the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth added even more to his wildness. Haven couldn't suppress the temptation to touch this beast so close to him.

"Terrance McLaine, of course it's you again, I should have known!" the assistant yelled in a high-pitched voice stomping behind the raven haired boy and was about to smack him on the back of his head when she suddenly froze. To say she was shocked by what happened next was the biggest understatement of the year. But then again, pretty much everyone was, even the toddler's own parents.

The four-year-old stretched out his free hand to wipe away the blood with the tips of his fingers before bringing them to his own face and drawing three red lines on his cheek with the other's blood.

Haven had once read in one of his mother's big books that drawing three lines with another person's blood on your left cheek was a sign of friendship and blood-brotherhood to the other in southern cultures. Of course everyone else didn't know that and was more than confused by the child's strange actions. Terrance seemed surprised as well but was soothed by the small hand stroking his hair. "t's a sign of brotherhood" Haven explained, his face showing absolute seriousness "because you saved my best friend I will acknowledge you as my brother and friend"

Everyone was even more perplexed than before, hearing such big words from such a small kid. Only Terrance reacted with a shy smile for he had never heard anybody speak such kind words towards him.

Silence followed as everybody's brains were slowly catching up with what had just happened.

Haven was the one to break it as he took back his hand and slung it around his stuffed dragon.

"let's go home"

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Needless to say it was Terrance the Haddocks adopted in the end, Haven gaining an older brother instead of a younger one. Terrance later became Toothless (haven's nickname for him) due to his similarities to his stuffed dragon; the black hair, those piercing green eyes, his animalistic behavior.

Toothless avenged himself by nicknaming his new younger brother Hiccup, based on a hiccupping incident at dinner one night that had the whole family laughing.

Their blood-brotherhood ritual was completed two month later when Hiccup had a small accident with his bike and scraped his knees. Returning the gesture from their first encounter toothless drew three red lines with his younger brother's blood on his cheek.

Neither of the boys needed to read that those forms of brotherhood and friendship between clans were deemed holy and may never be broken. They didn't need to read, because neither planned on breaking it anyway.

It was a strong bond that formed between those two, growing even stronger as years passed.

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**A/N: that's it. i know it's a little weird... sorry about that. **

**like it? review please :D i love reviews! **

**for those you want to know, there's actually a story behind the reason Hiccup had named his stuffed dragon Toothless: For his first christmas Val and Stoick had bought it; a plush dragon with black fur and only his teeth were made of plastic (you know, to add some "real" sharpness for teeth (; ). however, when Stoick carried the present to hide it under the christmas tree he accidentally dropped it. So when Hiccup opened the present most of the teeth were broken or had fallen out. Turns out he liked the dragon even better that way (: uniqueness and all**

**should any facts mentioned relate to historic facts it is pure coincidence. **

**thank you for reading!**


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